“Valentine’s Day is the poet’s holiday.” – Ted Kooser

Roses Are Red

Valentine’s Day has always been a day that I approach with caution. I remember the day in third grade that Christy Kern got one of those huge red heart-shaped boxes of candy with a fake rose on the front from her dad. I wanted that box of candy so badly that I was tempted to steal it out of her desk. That box was proof of love.

Violets Are Blue

Now that I’m older, I realize that Valentine’s Day is weird. It’s a ritualized love performance that usually comes off as super-cringey, mostly because the traditional ways of expressing this complex emotion—LUV U candy, BEE Mine card with a bee on it, and heart-shaped jewelry—don’t come close to communicating what’s really in our hearts. But it doesn’t have to be that.

Writing Is Tough, And So Are You

As writers and artists, we have an opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to us in a way that’s meaningful.

Love weaves through our lives on many different threads. And, as writers and artists, we have an opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to us in a way that’s meaningful. This Valentine’s Day, why not take a moment to reflect on the many ways that love lives in your life or write a sincere note to someone you care about? You can even give it to them with one of those heart-shaped boxes of chocolate with a rose on it. Because, let’s face it, people like candy.